PA MediaGerman police will undertake a new search in Portugal this week as part of ongoing investigations into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The search will reportedly take place in Praia da Luz, the town in the Algarve where she went missing nearly two decades ago.
Madeleine was three years old when she vanished from a holiday apartment complex on 3 May 2007 while on holiday with her family.
Her disappearance sparked a Europe-wide police investigation, and has become one of the highest-profile unsolved missing person cases in the world.
The Metropolitan Police said it was not involved in the new search, but was aware of the operation being carried out by German authorities.
German investigators have been primarily involved in the case since identifying Christian Brückner as their prime suspect in 2020. Portuguese authorities have also named him as a formal suspect, or “arguido”.
Brückner, who has not been charged with any crime in relation to Madeleine McCann and denies any involvement, is currently serving a sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal in 2005.
German authorities told the BBC on Monday that “criminal proceedings are currently underway in Portugal”, and that this was being done with the support of Portugese police.
The Met Police said: “We are aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.”
The search will be the first to take place in two years. The previous search in 2023 focused on a remote dam, a 40-minute-drive from where Madeleine was last seen.
Brückner, who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, was found to have photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.
Portuguese media reported on Monday that the new search would focus on the area between the Ocean Club holiday resort where the McCann family were staying and the house where Brückner used to live.
The night Madeleine disappeared, her parents had been at dinner with friends at a restaurant a short walk away while Madeleine and her younger twin siblings were asleep in the ground-floor apartment.
Her parents checked in on the children throughout the evening until her mother, Kate, discovered Madeleine was missing at around 22:00.
German authorities continue to treat Brückner as their main suspect. However, prosecutors in Germany said earlier this year that there was “no prospect” of a charge against him relating to Madeleine’s disappearance.
A German documentary in 2022 found evidence that Brückner occassionally worked at the Ocean Club as a handyman, while German prosecutors have also linked his mobile phone data and a car sale to their case against him.
Madeleine’s parents last month marked the 18th year anniversary of her disappearance, saying their “determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering”.
The Metropolitan Police continues its investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance, known as Operation Grange, which has been going since 2011.
